WE MET next day as he had arranged, and inspected the rooms at No.221B, Baker Street, of which he had spoken at our meeting. Theyconsisted of a couple of [20] comfortable bedrooms and a single large airysitting-room, cheerfully furnished, and illuminated by two broadwindows. So desirable in every way were the apartments, and somoderate did the terms seem when divided between us, that the bargainwas concluded upon the spot, and we at once entered into possession. That very evening I moved my things round from the hotel, and on thefollowing morning Sherlock Holmes followed me with several boxes andportmanteaus. For a day or two we were busily employed in unpackingand laying out our property to the best advantage. That done, wegradually began to settle down and to accommodate ourselves to our newsurroundings. Holmes was certainly not a difficult man to live with. He was quiet inhis ways, and his habits were regular. It was rare for him to be up after tenat night, and he had invariably breakfasted and gone out before I rose inthe morning. Sometimes he spent his day at the chemical laboratory,sometimes in the dissecting-rooms, and occasionally in long walks, whichappeared to take him into the lowest portions of the city. Nothing couldexceed his energy when the working fit was upon him; but now and againa reaction would seize him, and for days on end he would lie upon thesofa in the sitting-room, hardly uttering a word or moving a muscle frommorning to night. On these occasions I have noticed such a dreamy,vacant expression in his eyes, that I might have suspected him of beingaddicted to the use of some narcotic, had not the temperance andcleanliness of his whole life forbidden such a notion. As the weeks went by, my interest in him and my curiosity as to hisaims in life gradually deepened and increased. His very person andappearance were such as to strike the attention of the most casualobserver. In height he was rather over six feet, and so excessively leanthat he seemed to be considerably taller. His eyes were sharp andpiercing, save during those intervals of torpor to which I have alluded; and his thin, hawk-like nose gave his whole expression an air of alertnessand decision. His chin, too, had the prominence and squareness whichmark the man of determination. His hands were invariably blotted withink and stained with chemicals, yet he was possessed of extraordinarydelicacy of touch, as I frequently had occasion to observe when I watchedhim manipulating his fragile philosophical instruments. The reader may set me down as a hopeless busybody, when I confesshow much this man stimulated my curiosity, and how often I endeavouredto break through the reticence which he showed on all that concernedhimself. Before pronouncing judgment, however, be it remembered howobjectless was my life, and how little there was to engage my attention. My health forbade me from venturing out unless the weather wasexceptionally genial, and I had no friends who would call upon me andbreak the monotony of my daily existence. Under these circumstances, Ieagerly hailed the little mystery which hung around my companion, andspent much of my time in endeavouring to unravel it. He was not studying medicine. He had himself, in reply to a question,confirmed Stamford’s opinion upon that point.